Key Vocabulary for the Constitutional Convention

A great way to help students gain a better understanding of history is to have them identify and illustrate key terms and vocabulary for the events and time period they're studying. For this activity, students will create storyboards of the vocabulary terms for the Constitutional Convention of 1787. For each term, students should include a definition of the term along with a visual representation. Teachers may refer to the fifteen vocabulary terms provided below or use specific vocabulary terms from their classroom instruction.

Suggested Constitutional Convention Vocabulary Terms:

• Constitution
• Federalist
• Anti-Federalist
• Checks and Balances
• New Jersey Plan
• Virginia Plan
• Compromise
• Bill of Rights
• Congress
• Enumerated Powers
• Unanimous
• Northwest Ordinance
• Articles of Confederation
• Republic
• Precedent

Extended Activity
For this extended activity, students may create a secondary storyboard that represents how these terms are used in their own lives or modern society. For example, students may choose to compromise and include a visual representation of how they have made a compromise in their everyday lives.

Student Instructions

Demonstrate your understanding of the vocabulary words for The Constitutional Convention by creating visualizations.

1. Choose at least three vocabulary words from the story and type them in the title boxes.
2. Write a definition in your own words.
• If necessary, look up the definition in a print or online dictionary.
3. Illustrate the meaning of the word in the cell using a combination of scenes, characters, and items.
• Alternatively, use Photos for Class to show the meaning of the words with the search bar.